lying

¹

[ lahy-ing ]

noun

1. the telling of lies, or false statements; untruthfulness:

   From boyhood, he has never been good at lying.

   Synonyms: prevarication, mendacity, falsity, falsehood

   Antonyms: veracity, truth

adjective

1. telling or containing lies; deliberately untruthful; deceitful; false:

   a lying report.

   Synonyms: counterfeit, sham, fallacious, mendacious, misleading, deceptive

   Antonyms: trustworthy, accurate, correct, actual, candid, true

lying

²

[ lahy-ing ]

verb

1. present participle of lie ².

lying

¹

/ ˈlaɪɪŋ /

verb

1. See lie
   the present participle and gerund of lie 2

lying

²

/ ˈlaɪɪŋ /

verb

1. See lie
   the present participle and gerund of lie 1

Other Words From

• lying·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of lying¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; lie ¹, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

You can do this lying down, sitting, or standing, anytime throughout the day.

From Outside Online

Hunt witnessed firsthand McCarthy’s lying and grandstanding.

From Washington Post

Mayorkas admits these are temporary solutions that don’t tackle the under-lying problems.

From Time

We found the patient lying in bed, contracted and shivering, so short of breath he could barely speak.

From Time

What is worse than his lying is the number of people who believe him even when the truth is placed in front of them.

From Washington Blade

Orlandi told The Daily Beast that Agca might be lying, but he should still be heard.

From The Daily Beast

Mills was lying on the sidewalk, dying, right in front of people trained to save him.

From The Daily Beast

Suddenly, light flooded the room, and I found myself lying on a filthy orange sofa across the room from where my rape occurred.

From The Daily Beast

“Lying is intentionally, intentionally misleading someone, all right,” he told Newsmax.

From The Daily Beast

If Jackie is lying, she will likely—and sadly—suffer for it.

From The Daily Beast

This, however, did not apply to the waters lying directly around the Poloe and Flatland groups.

From Project Gutenberg

Eggs and nestlings were found lying on the bare soil at the inner ends of the burrows; no nesting material was found.

From Project Gutenberg

The Seven-score and four on the six middle Bells, the treble leading, and the tenor lying behind every change, makes good Musick.

From Project Gutenberg

Indeed, a score of bodies lying there had not been seen by Malcolm during his first frenzied examination of the house.

From Project Gutenberg

Last night I saw Jean Baptiste lying prone upon the floor, and knew that she had beaten him down to it, and he had not resisted.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• misleading